Day 9: Front Flip

It was just another day which meant another challenge. But today was a cold, sleepy, snow covered day, and so today's challenge was cold, but mild (at least compared to some of the other challenges) one. I planned on making a snow sculpture in the backyard. I thought it would be a fun way to get creative and take advantage of the snowy wonderland outside. I researched some pictures of sculptures constructed completely out of snow to get an idea of what I should try. It was apparent that these elaborate and highly intricate pieces were too complicated and time consuming for a rookie like me. I was a bit intimidated but not yet ready to give up. I went to the back yard and started to pile the snow into a huge mass before I would attack it with furious creativity and what not. I shoveled towards my soon-to-be-masterpiece, building it up to a 3 foot long by 2 foot deep blob. The mess of snow was ready to be molded into pure awesomeness but the anti-packable properties of the snow proved to be problematic. It would collapse and crumble as soon as I laid a finger on it. Poop. The snow sculpture challenge was over before it even started. So, I did what any other self respecting teenager would do... I jumped in the pile. It collapsed instantly and snow was everywhere. Thats about when that whole "destruction breeds creation" rule came into play. Since the snow was so fun and comfortable to jump into, I decided to return to an old challenge that I had failed a while ago (before this project even started up). The challenge was to front flip off the retaining wall in the backyard. I chickened out last time out of fear of me braking my neck. So I repacked the snow next to the wall to make a cushion and talked my little brother (Sean) into test trying the landing. He jumped and flopped on his back but didn't complain or even hint that it hurt. His willingness and successful test flight gave me some confidence, so I did something that I had never ever done before, front flipped off something (I don't count trampolines or diving boards cause thats lil' kid shit). Jump. Tuck. Flop. I landed straight on my ass and was surprised how close I got and how pain free the process was. Sean and I took turns attempting to land the flip and each time we would both get within farting distance of sticking the maneuver. But each time, we failed. This went on for probably a half hour; running, jumping, flipping, repacking the snow, repeating. Pretty soon we realized that our pillow of snow wasn't as comfy as it used to be and we were numb in the fingertips. We were sore and cold and tired and still out of reach of a flip. We couldn't get it, and I still haven't gotten it. The front flip has eluded me once again but this time, I consider the challenge a success. I may not have landed the flip still, but that wasn't the challenge in the first place. The challenge was to try something new and I did that. I gathered the courage to try the front flip, which is waaaaaay farther than I got last time. I tried it, and failed, but the important part is that I tried something new. Maybe I'll actually land it sometime.